'Bridesmaids' the most popular video-on-demand title of all time

Break out the bubbly and avoid the questionable meat: Bridesmaids is officially the most in-demand movie available on video-on-demand (or VOD). The Oscar-nominated comedy has racked up 4.8 million rentals in just over four months, according to Rentrak (via a Universal Pictures release), which adds up to over $24 million in VOD grosses.

When you factor in VOD over the Internet, pay-per-view cable, viewing in hotels, and paid digital downloads (i.e. electronic sell through), Bridesmaids has amassed $40 million in domestic grosses for viewings that weren’t from DVD or Blu-ray. Those traditional formats still account for the lion’s share of the film’s home video market – Universal says the film’s taken in over $100 million in DVD and Blu-ray sales. But for an industry anxious to know whether the VOD market will prove to be a viable revenue source for the future, this is most welcome news indeed.